


On the surface (all the way through)

by Naomida



Series: Fire Meet Gasoline [13]
Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: F/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-17
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-30 01:34:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17819336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naomida/pseuds/Naomida
Summary: Really, she thought as she put her hand on his shoulder and gently thumbed at a scar there, he was too good to be true.And then it hit her.She stopped breathing for a second, the idea completely crazy, but there was now a giant planet made mostly out of fel in the sky so really, nothing was too crazy anymore. She wanted it, like she had never wanted anything else before — wanted him, had for years.or: Lidya makes one harsh decision after Argus appears in the sky and Varian is on board





	On the surface (all the way through)

Lidya looked up at the sky, heart dropping, and for a second she was back in time, all the way to her face off with Kael’thas – and she felt like she really was there.

“Don’t you worry,” said Balan, squeezing her hand in his, “the Light is with us, love. We will do it justice today.”

She slowly shook her head. “This isn’t what worries me.”

She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Ravandwyr ever since she had met him — wondering what her chances were to meet a Kirin Tor apprentice so far from Dalaran.

He had suddenly made her remember that Draerin didn’t want to have anything to do with her — that she’d had to choose between her mentor and the love of her life, and she had chosen Balan. She didn’t regret it — couldn’t, not considering how much she loved him, how good he was to her, all the things they had accomplished together — but Draerin had been her lighthouse for so long, the only certainty in her life, and his absence felt a lot like a lost limb that still hurt.

“I know how you feel,” murmured Balan when she blinked at the tears in her eyes — as surprising as absolutely unwanted, “I know you miss your mentor, and I’m possibly the last person you want to hear it from, but you did the right thing coming here. You listened to the call of adventures, listened to your _heart_ ,” he said, his gaze pressing and a tiny smile pushing at Lidya’s mouth, “and from what you told me about him, he probably understands it.” Balan gave her a beaming smile, squeezing her hand again, before shrugging and looking around at the Naaru structure, “besides, you’ve done worse than this, no?”

“I have,” she laughed softly, getting on her tiptoes and letting go of his hand to wrap her arms around his waist, press up against his chest and kiss his lips. “Thank you,” she murmured against his cheek when he nuzzled her neck.

They were interrupted by a cleared throat.

“We’re ready to go,” said Anaar, before adding something in Draenei that Lidya didn’t understand and had Balan’s face close off as he nodded.

Lidya grabbed his hand again and met his eyes.

“What did he say?”

“Nothing, just an old saying from Argus,” he replied, quickly kissing her forehead before they were on their way.

  


  


***

  


  


Lidya blinked up at the sky, back in the present moment, the heavy and disgusting taste of fel stuck at the back of her throat, mouth feeling dry, limbs still shaking from the adrenaline cursing through her veins, the wound on her left leg still bleeding through her armor and on to the paved floor.

She blinked, those words that she hadn’t understood at the time coming back to mind, and she gritted her teeth against the sudden surge of pure rage and hatred taking over her — feeling for the first time since Léria’s death like the fire inside of her was brazing.

Light, Léria had died, and now so would everyone else.

She blinked, tears of rage in her eyes, turned on her heels to face the one to blame for all this, and lunged at him.

“You motherfucking—” she screamed, cut off by Ilana wrapping both arms around her waist to hold her back and yelling for her to calm down.

Illidan barely reacted, and Lidya threw an ice lance at him, which he took in the shoulder without more reaction.

“What have you done?” murmured Khadgar somewhere to Lidya’s left as she raised her hands, ready to bury the Illidari’s leader under the biggest blizzard known on Azeroth, but Khadgar stepped in front of her, blocking off her view, and Ariah grabbed her wrists and forced them down, her eyes still turned to the sky though, and the giant planet that had just appeared there.

“We’re all gonna die!” cried out Lidya while Ilana was holding her up so her feet weren’t touching the ground anymore and spreading her wings. “We’re all gonna die because of you! How could you! _How fucking could you_!”

Ilana took off before Lidya could hear an answer — not that she thought she would have been given any.

“Did you know?” demanded Lidya as soon as Ilana touched down in Illidari Stand.

Ilana looked away without a word, and it was all Lidya needed to lose it completely, falling to her knees and looking up again, feeling like the bottom of her stomach had detached itself from the rest and was now falling and falling.

“We’re all gonna die because of him,” she murmured, blinking, eyes misty and burning.

“No we’re not,” replied Ilana, firmly, stepping in front of her and squating down so their eyes would meet. “We’re not gonna die, you hear me? Not after all we’ve been through. This is the only way we can ever get rid of the Legion for good, and we have the upper hand. This is a _good_ thing.”

Lidya shook her head, looking back up at Argus, corrupted and torn and dead-looking, and she couldn’t help herself as her thoughts went back to fighting Kil’jaeden and Archimonde, to all that she had lost in doing so.

To all that she still had to lose.

  


  


***

  


  


Lidya had teleported herself away from Ilana to the only place she could think of: Draerin’s cottage in the Everbloom Forest.

He was already at his door, having left the Tomb about two days before her, eyes up, probably like everyone else in the world, and he looked more worried than she had ever seen him when their eyes met.

“What the fuck is that?”

“It’s Argus,” she replied, stepping up to him and looking into his eyes through her eyelashes, feeling like a scared teenager again, who had just packed her bags in a hurry and left Dalaran for what she had thought to be forever and didn’t have anything to look forward to anymore. Light, she had thought that it was the end of her life, at the time. Had thought nothing else could be worse than that, that she’d just have to try and survive until death inevitably took her.

She had been so young. So innocent. Hadn’t seen a tenth of what Lidya had seen since then.

It was a miracle that this same teenager had lived through Anh’Qiraj — and Lidya was pretty sure that she only had Draerin to thank for that, because as she had looked up at him that day, standing at the very same place as she was now, he had taken her into his arms, one hand holding the back of her head, and had gently shushed her sobs and told her that everything would be okay, that they would go through this together.

This time though, Draerin looked like he was out of his depth as his eyes fleeted to the sky, down to her eyes.

“Lidya,” he said, simply, and she grabbed him by the waist and held on to him as tight as she could, tucking her face against his shoulder and shaking with the force of her fear and panic and uncertainty.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding tight and pressing his face against her dirty hair, and she could feel a tiny part of her start to relax.

“Lidya, you’re alive thank the Light,” he murmured against her ear, “when I saw that…”

She shook her head.

“You’re bleeding,” he added, and when he tried to take a step back to get away from her, she followed, refusing to let go. “Come on,” he murmured, running his fingers through the hair at the back of her head and gently patting her back with his other hand, “let’s go inside. We can talk or not, it’s okay. I’m here, I’m not leaving.”

She shuddered at those words, and finally broke down into sobs.

  


  


***

  


  


Lidya arrived to Stormwind’s Keep two hours later, eyes red, leg still bleeding despite the tight bandage Draerin had put around the wound, and feeling like she had just gotten her insides rearranged by a very angry warrior.

Guards exchanged looks and tried to ask if she needed help, but Lidya ignored them, determined to get to Varian — Light, she hadn’t thought before going to Draerin, he was probably worried _sick_.

People had beaten her to it, if the crowd she found as soon as she stepped inside the Keep was any indication. People looked frankly panicked, yelling at each other and no one in particular, pushing and pulling around, and any other time that would have stressed her out, but she felt too empty at the moment and didn’t even braced herself as she started to shoulder her way through all this madness.

People tried to stop her, yelling that they had been here longer, that everyone had to wait for their turn, but as soon as they met her eyes or their gaze fell on her, they shut up and let her go, and she managed to reach the throne in five minutes, only to find it empty.

Mathias was standing with his arms crossed right in front of the war council room, and he gave her a nod and stepped away when she approached.

She threw the double doors open, and watched as everyone in the room turned to her while reaching for their weapons.

People relaxed when they realized that it was her, not that Lidya could really tell because she had met Varian’s eyes and those two blue points of contact were the only thing she could see as he quickly crossed the space separating them, threw his arms around her and pushed her close and tight against his chest, bending down so his face was against her neck.

She closed her eyes when one of his hand cupped the back of her head and held him back, tight and close too, feeling him shake against her body and her heart skipped a beat at that, because he had probably thought that the worst had happened when she hadn’t come back — _again_.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, voice shaking as much as him, grabbing at his armor, trying to pull him even closer. “I’m so sorry Varian, I should have come earlier I didn’t—”

“Shhh,” he said, and she blinked in surprise.

“Your Majesty,” said someone to Lidya’s right, and she felt one of Varian’s hand get away from her to make some gesture before he was back to holding her.

Everyone started filling out of the room, and Mathias closed the double doors to hide them away from prying eyes, but they didn’t move until Anduin — whom Lidya hadn’t even realized had been here — cleared his throat.

Varian let go of her only long enough to cup her face between his hands and press a long kiss on her lips.

She didn’t want to stop, and leaned into him to kiss him again when he leaned back, and he let her do it, wrapping an arm around her shoulders once it was done and turning to face Anduin too.

The Prince had apparently looked away during the kissing, but he met Lidya’s eyes with a serious expression on his face, looking so much like his father when he frowned like that, it did something to her heart.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Not really.”

“What happened?” asked Varian before anyone could say more, and Lidya looked up at him, eyes passing over his face for a second, throat tying itself into a knot when she had the fleeting thought that she could lose him.

“We went to the Tomb and—”

“I know that,” he cut her, tone gentle despite the impatience she could read on his face, “Khadgar came as soon as chaos broke in the streets and told us about what happened. I meant what happened _to you_?”

She looked away, biting down on her lips, and let Varian pull her closer to his side.

“It’s okay,” he said against her head, kissing her hair. “We’re just glad you’re safe.”

She wasn’t sure anyone was safe at all, but chose to wrap her arms around his hips instead of commenting and leech off of his warmth.

  


  


***

  


  


Later that night, after Anduin had healed her and Varian had made sure to keep everyone away from her — and then had pressed her into his mattress when it had been time to go to bed and had made out with her for a _very_ long time, both putting their hands everywhere they could reach — Lidya was sitting in the giant royal bed, holding the sheet against her chest as she looked at Varian peacefully sleep, on his stomach, one hand under his pillow, the other somewhere under the sheets.

They were both naked, having shed clothes pretty quickly during the make out session, but Varian hadn’t taken it farther, and neither had she — and she was glad that he knew her well enough not to.

She had wanted to feel his skin against hers, to make sure that he was still here, that _she_ was still here, and had wanted to feel her heart beat against his, but sex was so far out of her mind, she wasn’t sure she could have done it even if he had asked her.

Which he hadn’t, because he was a gentleman and had stopped when it had been to much for him and he had started to grind against her hip instead of the bed. So he had kissed her chin, declared that it was time to sleep, and had disappeared off into the bathroom before she could have said anything — like asked if he wanted a hand.

Really, she thought as she put her hand on his shoulder and gently thumbed at a scar there, he was too good to be true.

And then it hit her.

She stopped breathing for a second, the idea completely crazy, but there was now a giant planet made mostly out of fel in the sky so really, nothing was too crazy anymore. She wanted it, like she had never wanted anything else before — wanted _him_ , had for years.

She had already died once, would probably come too close to death again in the very near future.

She had nothing to lose, but her life, and him, and considering how he had kissed her until they both couldn’t breathe, color high on his cheeks, hard against her just from kissing, shivering every time she moaned or hummed or said his name, she was pretty sure he wanted her just as much as she wanted him.

“Varian,” she said, gently shaking his shoulder, almost smiling when she remembered the very first time she had woken up in this bed and had tried to wake him up. “Varian, wake up.”

He opened his eyes, frowning and sitting up, looking into her eyes with way too much intensity.

“What is it?” he asked, looking too awake for someone who had just been sleeping. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

He reached out for her as he asked that last question, and it was what sealed the deal for Lidya and had her _know_ , down to her core, that it was the right thing to do.

She got on her knees on the bed, facing him, and cupped the side of his neck, tangling her fingers into his long and soft hair, smiling for the first time since what felt like month, and she watched him relax and smile back.

“Varian,” she said, heart beating wildly in her chest, “let’s get married.”

“What?” he asked, but the smile was still on his face, his hands had found her waist and Lidya had felt the way his heart had skipped a beat under her palm.

“Marry me, Varian,” she repeated, looking deep into his eyes — pale gray, in the darkness, but no matter their color they still anchored her like nothing else could. “Just… please, marry me, in front of the Light.”

“Okay, yes,” he said, laughing softly and pulling her closer to kiss her mouth while she laughed too. “I’ll marry you,” he mumbled as she deepened the kiss, “I’ll let you get me a ring.”

“Mmmh,” she replied, hands leaving his neck so she could wrap her arms around him and get closer, “do you know any priest, by chance?”

He broke the kiss by laughing, but the huff of air on her face felt good, and the butterflies in her stomach made her smile bigger and hug him closer, until they were chest to chest, hearts beating against each other, and she knew without a doubt that as long as he was willing to love her and be with her, she’d be okay.

  


  


***

  


  


Draerin looked pissed when he opened his door until he realized that Varian was standing right next to Lidya.

“What?” he still snapped, looking like he had literally fallen out of a chair where he had fallen asleep — which, knowing him, was probably exactly what had happened.

“We’re getting married,” she announced without preambles, the beaming smile on her face coming back in full force.

Varian was looking around — and she distantly thought it was his first time in this part of this world and that Mathias would have her head if he knew that she had taken him into Horde territory. Varian was also holding her hand, their fingers intertwined, and for some reason she couldn’t help but go back to this physical contact, looking down to watch and make sure that they really were touching, squeezing his fingers just to be sure.

“You’re what?” asked Draerin, but judging by his face he had heard her well.

“I want you to be my witness,” she said, and Draerin rolled his eyes but a huge smile was drawing on his face, and once again Lidya’s heart skipped a beat.

“You’re not getting married in _that_ ,” he replied, looking down at her shirt and pants with disgust while he opened his front door all the way, “and I’m also doing your hair. No student of mine will look ugly on her wedding day with the king.”

Lidya laughed and stepped inside, pulling Varian after her.

  


  


***

  


  


The sun was starting to rise by the time they finally joined a quiet beach off the coast of Nagrand.

Lidya was wearing the white dress that was suspiciously her exact size that had been waiting in Draerin’s wardrobe, and she had gotten a little teary eyed when he had showed it to her — with the large skirt, long lace sleeves and the fact that it was completely backless. He had completed the look with pearls in her hair, diamonds in her ears and around her neck, and had given Varian a very slim golden brand that had buzzed with magic the second anyone had touched it.

He had given the exact same brand to Lidya, this one a little thicker, and had winked when Varian had tried to refuse.

“You’ll get her a ring in due time,” he had said, “for now take those. They’re of no use for me.”

Then he had cast a portal to Stormwind and had told him to go get a priest and get ready.

Once Varian had left with one last kiss on Lidya’s cheek, Draerin had just held her for a while, both trying to pretend that they weren’t crying.

Varian was wearing his very nice and very official armor, the one that was glinting in the sun, with the gorgeous lion pauldrons and the blue silk cloak. His hair was up into a complicated bun, like the one he had worn during the last ball they had been to — the one that had made this wedding possible.

  


There were gemstones through his hair’s length, making him glint even more, and for once since she had met him, he was actually smiling freely despite the presence of someone who wasn’t her or Anduin.

“We’re here today,” started Anduin, dressed in the most beautiful priest robes she had ever seen, “to join two lives in the Light.”

He stopped, just to smile at them.

“Anduin Llane Wrynn and Draerin Sunheart will have the honor to act as witnesses to Varian Wrynn and Lidya Appleton during this holy ritual. As I know both of you, I am assured that no matter how fast it is happening, this is not a decision taken lightly. As a King and an archmage, you both bear the weight of responsibility and duty.”

He took another pause, this time looking down at the small pieces of parchment in his hands with an amused smile, before he was looking back at them.

“I didn’t have a lot of time to research this speech, but I was here when you first met. It was during a banquet, following the events of Ahn’Qiraj. Lidya was one of the heroes that had taken the fight to an Old God and had survived to tell the tale. Father, of course, probably doesn’t remember this, and probably hadn’t even looked twice at you Lidya,” Lidya and Varian both chuckled, exchanging a smile before focusing back on Anduin. “After all, you were probably way too young for his taste.”

“I was,” she murmured, smile becoming more private when Varian reached for her hand and squeezed her fingers at that.

“I don’t know about you Lidya, although, knowing the reaction my father tend to bring out of people, you were probably partially interested early on, but I can pinpoint the exact moment you caught his attention. See, the very first time I heard my father pronounce your name, it was after reading a letter describing your feats of strength during the early days of the Alliance’s campaign in Northrend.”

Varian squeezed her fingers tighter and she felt her heart jump.

“He always showed interest in you after this, always asked about you, made sure to know where you were and what you were doing.”

The High King’s cheeks were rosy when Lidya’s glanced at him, and she felt pride flare in her chest. She had impressed Varian Wrynn through a letter. Her, Lidya.

She had done that.

“Really, it wasn’t very surprising to me that you were the person he trusted to find me in Pandaria. In fact, it wasn’t surprising at all to realize that you were both in love with each other. It took you years, and I’m not going to lie for a moment I thought that someone had to intervene for you two to finally do something about it — so I did. And now look at where we are.”

“Yes Anduin,” sighed Varian, amusement ruining the fake exasperated tone of his voice, “your celebratory balls are the reason we are getting married, thank you for that.”

Anduin gave a slight bow, and they all laughed, Lidya being the one to squeeze Varian’s hand this time as she felt tears built in her eyes when Draerin stepped up to stand next to Anduin.

“Lidya, I won’t be long,” he said. “We’ve known each other for a while now, counting in human years, and you’re as far from the scared farmgirl I met as could be possible. You’ve grown a lot, had to because of all the terrible things you’ve witnessed, unfortunately, but you didn’t let it break you, and now look at where you’re standing, archmage” he said with a smile so fond, Lidya had to reach up and wipe at her cheek. “A long time ago, I told you that you wouldn’t find love in Outland, and although things didn’t turn out quite like you wanted them to, it seems like I was right, after all.”

She nodded, a little overwhelmed.

“I know you’re not my daughter, and not quite my little sister, but the bond between us is stronger than anything I’ve ever felt, and I will forever be grateful that you chose me to be here for you on this day.”

“Thank you for everything,” she replied in Thalassian.

“I love you,” he replied in the same language, and she nodded, wiping at another tear that had found its way to her cheek.

“Now,” said Anduin, “if you would give me your hand.”

They both gave their free hands to Anduin, who didn’t wait a single second before making Light flare everywhere, encasing both Varian and Lidya in a bubble, and she felt her own Light, hidden deep into her core, wake up at that, run up her arm, to Anduin’s hand, and from him run down to Varian as some of his own Light did the same to her.

She saw his memories. Saw a very tiny baby, and a woman with blue eyes and dimples, felt the love radiating to and from her, making Lidya tear up again because Varian would never stop loving Tiffin and she couldn’t believe he had survived losing her. Then she saw a toddler taking his first step, and a familiar paladin laugh, a young Jaina giving him a private smile, Arthas clapping her shoulder.

She saw herself standing in the middle of the ruins of Stormwind, victorious and full of hope.

And then she closed her eyes when other memories assaulted her, of losing everyone, parents and siblings and friends and Bolvar, Light please not Bolvar, not to Arthas.

She saw Lo’gosh looking back at her with yellow eyes, looked down to see herself holding Shalamayne, two faces of the same coin, saw herself cut through enemies, a deep thrumming running through her body, saw Anduin burn a dummy with holy fire for the first time and felt pride flare through her chest, deliciously choking.

Lidya could feel, at the very back of her mind, that the exact same thing was happening to Varian — could see flashes of her childhood with Léria, of a burnt red mask and looking up at Draerin for the first time, scared and not understanding a word of what was being said to her. She couldn’t focus on it though, not when the next memory hit her, a letter written by Bolvar held between nervous fingers — “you’d love her Varian, she’s brilliant and stops at nothing. I need the two of you to meet.”

The next memories were very short. She saw her own face in the Icecrown citadel as Bolvar’s voice resonated through the halls, looking pale and determined. Saw herself, when she was looking away. Saw her face fall as she learned that the White Pawn had disappeared. Felt her heart skip a beat as her fingers brushed against Varian’s while passing a parchment over.

She saw herself come back with a bleeding and broken Anduin, the both of them looking like death itself, felt the pain and agonizing fear that had surged through and had to watch as Varian yelled at her for the second time of her life, regret panging through her chest as she saw herself start to cry and run away.

She could feel absolutely everything that he had at the time, and couldn’t name half of these things, but most of them hurt and guilt was very strongly present.

She saw herself again, at her garrison, striding into the place like its rightful commander, something warm stirring in Varian’s guts, something a lot deeper than desire.

The memories jumped back in time, to that time on the Skyfire, and she was overwhelmed with want for a second as she watched from Varian’s point of view as he pressed her into a wall, pressed _into_ her, burying his face against her shoulder and hoping to never have to get out of her embrace — hoping to have it for as long as possible.

The next memory was more recent, a chilling calm running through her body, the certainty of incoming death making everything clearer, sharper and simpler. She felt his few regrets — _should have told Anduin I love him, should have told him how proud I am, should have told him about Bolvar, should have_ _done something about_ _Lidya_ — before seeing her break through the wall of demons to throw herself down on him, small body pressing into his stronger and bigger one but still feeling like she would protect him and keep him safe.

She could feel her own heart beating and the smell of her hair as they cuddled into a too little tent, a few days later, on their way back home.

The memories jumped back and forth after that, alternating between moment in Pandaria, Draenor and Stormwind or the Broken Isles, and Lidya tried to commit it all to memory, knowing that this probably was her one and only chance to see and feel things like Varian did.

She knew she had reached the last memory when she saw herself the night before, laying under Varian, only wearing her underwear and panting heavily against his chin as he looked down into her eyes, love taking over him for a second, warm and light and slightly choking but making him feel like he was invincible as Lidya looked up at him with dark eyes and a slight smile floating on the corner of her mouth.

 _I love you so much_ , he had thought at this moment, _I don’t even have words to let you know._

 _I know_ , she tried to reply, but the memory faded and Lidya found herself back on the beach, Anduin and Varian both still holding her hands, and she blinked at the happy tears in her eyes, letting go of Anduin to fall into Varian’s embrace, finding the exact same tears on his face — and the same feeling as in her chest, she knew.

  


  


***

  


  


They forgot about the rings up until they arrived in Pandaria and fell, half of Varian’s armor already off and Lidya’s dress hiked up, on the comfortable bed.

Lidya had had to pull some strings to get that tiny beach house on a deserted island, near the Krasarang Wilds, but nothing could have stopped her from getting this for her honey moon.

Varian laughed when she murmured that they hadn’t put the rings on, and they stopped kissing only long enough to put them on, before Lidya was pulling him on top of her again and reaching inside of his pants.

  


  


***

  


  


Lidya woke up slowly, each of her senses coming back to full awareness one after the other.

It started with touch and the feeling of the scratchy sheets under and over her, the soft caress of the breeze on her bare back, the sunlight warming the skin of her right shoulder where it fell on her. She was naked, laying on her belly, head turned to the left, and she could tell by the way she was spread across the mattress that no one else was in bed with her.

Then came smell, with the salty pang of the ocean, the lingering smell of a heady perfume she knew well on the pillow under her cheek and something sweeter, like warm honey.

After that it was sound. She could hear the distant waves, the birds singing loudly through the open windows and the soft sound of pages being turned slowly.

“Are you finally getting up?” asked a gentle voice, the last sound to fill her ears like music, making her smile and turn so her face was facing the other side.

She groaned, whined a “I don’t want to!” that earned her a muffled scoffed before she opened her eyes, finally welcoming her sight, and discovered Varian sitting on the old rocking chair that he had dragged inside, wearing nothing but soft leather pants, hair cascading freely down his naked chest and back, reading glassed on the bridge of his nose.

A pang of something tender and warm in her chest took Lidya’s breath away for a second as Varian put his index finger between the pages of the book he was reading while taking his glasses off with his other hand and looked up at her, the gentle smile in his eyes reflecting on his lips.

“I already made and ate breakfast,” he said, sitting up in the rocking chair and putting his elbows on his knees. “In fact, I already had time to get through my training, take a shower, eat, fish some fishes for lunch, and read half of that book.”

Lidya looked down at the book in his hand. It was a novel she had heard Anduin talk about. It made her smile bigger.

“My,” she drawled, stretching like a cat and not missing the way his eyes immediately turned to her naked back, “you’re very productive. Maybe I didn’t tire you enough last night.”

“Maybe you should try tiring me in the morning too,” he replied as she rolled over on her back, not bothering to cover her chest – it would have been hypocritical considering the way he had been sucking on it the night before and how much she loved the look in his eyes as he openly ogled her.

“That’s actually a great idea,” she replied, biting down on her lower lip when he looked up at her face, “if only I could have some breakfast first.”

He burst into soft laughter when she gave him pleading eyes and got up from the rocking chair, dropping off his glasses on the seat, and crossed the room to the open kitchen in long, self-assured stride to the fully made table.

“Breakfast in bed, uh?” he asked as he grabbed a spoon and put it as a page marker in his book, which had Lidya raise an eyebrow, “how kingly of you.”

“Said the king,” she replied, sitting up against the headboard and looking at the ground for some clothes.

“Not king anymore,” replied Varian, grabbing a plate and a fork and crossing the room to her quickly.

He sat down on the side of the bed, put the plate down on the bedside table and grabbed a piece a clothing from under his pillow that he handed to her. Lidya slipped it on, smiling down at the shirt when she realized it was his, and turned back to Varian, who was staring closely at her face.

“Former king doesn’t change anything,” she said, reaching up with both hand to cup his shadowed jaw, “technically you’re still a king, right? You didn’t suddenly become a Prince once again?”

He rolled his eyes and kissed the tip of her nose.

“For now I’m your cook, alright?” he said, pushing the plate into her hands, “so eat up and tell me what you think of it.”

“Okay,” she murmured, leaning into him to quickly steal a kiss before grabbing the fork he had put in the plate and starting to eat.

He had made pancakes and carefully watched her eat everything before he took the plate to the kitchen and came back with a cup up black tea, unsweetened, just like she preferred it.

He sat down into the bed next to her and they cuddled while she drank, although Varian made sure her hands stayed where he could see them until she had finished her beverage.

Once the cup was empty and gently put on the bedside table though, he let her do whatever she wanted, and she didn’t hold back.

  


  


***

  


  


Varian spent the entire afternoon on the beach, reading.

Lidya was supposed to do the same, but it was hard to focus on the words on paper when she had him so relaxed, happy and half naked _right there_. She couldn’t look away from his honeyed skin that seemed to tan right under her eyes throughout the afternoon. The back of his neck was on display for once, since he had put his hair back in a lazy bun at the back of his head, and there was a fine layer of sweat shining there that she found mesmerizing – and she knew how weird that was.

She also couldn’t stop thinking about everything that she had seen the day before. It had been like looking straight into his soul, and she wondered what he had seen from her.

Varian looked up, meeting her eyes and smiling softly.

“What is it?” he asked.

“You love your son so much,” she replied before she could think herself out of it. “That’s amazing, and it makes me fall in love with you even more.”

His smile grew bigger and he scooted over on the towel to kiss her on the cheekbone, smiling against her skin.

“And you love your friends like they’re all part of your family. You’d do anything for them, and _that_ makes me fall in love with you harder.”

She smiled too, and couldn’t look away from his handsome face.

“Are we going to talk about what we saw?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “I think I know what you saw.”

“And I think I know what you did,” she replied, “but still.”

“Wanna go first?”

She nodded slightly, put her unread book away and sat up, Varian mirroring her position, facing each other with crossed legs.

“You never told me Bolvar wanted us to meet. In fact you never really talk about Bolvar, ever, and I understand, but he was my friend too and I want you to know that you can tell me anything.”

“I know,” he said, looking away at the ocean for a second, “it’s just… it’s too hard. He was my best friend, he took care of Anduin when I wasn’t here, raised him like his own son, and now…”

“You’ve lost another best friend to the scourge,” she finished for him, gently putting her hand on his knee.

He nodded, looking back at her, face unreadable, before saying:

“You never told me you almost married Balan.”

It was her time to shrug and look at the ocean.

“We had all those plans for the future, wanted to travel the world before settling down in Redridge to have a family, but he died and deep down, I think I knew that this life wasn’t really for me.”

Varian put his hand in hers, thumb rubbing gently at her skin, and she looked up into his pale blue eyes, feeling her heart give the exact same lurch it always did.

“Your fight with Draerin was nasty,” he added, which made her laugh.

“I know. Thank the Light it was the only fight we ever had.”

“I also know what happened when you next saw him.”

Lidya smirked at that.

“I went to Silvermoon.”

“And you stayed there. How?”

“No one says no to Draerin when he wants something.”

Nodding slightly, Varian continued to thumb at the back of her hand.

“Do you want to talk about Tiffin?” he asked.

“No, unless you want to.” He gave her an indecipherable look, so she shrugged a shoulder. “She was my Queen, you know. I was sad just like everyone else when she died, and she’s the mother of your son. Whatever I saw was perfectly normal, and I’m actually glad you still feel this strongly about her.”

His grip tightened on her hand, just for a second.

“I saw what your mother said, at Léria’s funerals.”

Lidya felt her internal temperature drop, and she murmured an apology when Varian reflexively let go of her hand, grabbing it back and making sure to have the exact same temperature as him.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he said instead of commenting on that lack of control, bringing his other hand up to cup her face in his large palm, bringing her face closer, his thumb lightly brushing against her chin and lips. “I’m _very_ sorry you lost your sister, it was a tragedy, but I have to disagree with your mother. You shouldn’t have died there that day, just like your sister shouldn’t have, and while we can’t change what happened, I can still tell you that I’m _very_ glad you’re alive and here with me.”

Lidya blinked, forcing the tears to stay in her eyes as Varian pressed his forehead against hers, both going a little cross-eyed to keep looking into the other’s eyes.

“I don’t know what I did to get you, but I’m very glad I did _that_ ,” she replied in a soft breath, closing her eyes when he chuckled, the sound washing over her and melting all of her aches and pains.

“I know it doesn’t sound like it’s true, but time will make it less painful, I promise.”

“I don’t know how you survived all of that,” she replied, opening her eyes again and leaning back to look at him correctly, to see the sad smile on his face.

“I didn’t have a choice, just like you.”

She echoed his sad smile, before letting go of his hand and pulling him into her arms.

  


  


***

  


  


That night, after some serious physical activity in bed, Varian forced a naked Lidya out to go play into the ocean, and she couldn’t say no to the amused glint in his eyes or the bright smile on his lips.

They splashed around for a long time, laughing until their bellies hurt, and Lidya had never seen him be this free and happy, _ever_.

And she hadn’t felt this free and happy in a long time, she thought as he wrapped his arms around her waist under her loud laughter, and threw her into an incoming wave.

  


  


***

  


  


“Maybe it’s time we go back to real life,” whispered Varian, a week later.

He was laying between Lidya’s legs, head on her thigh while she played with his hair, facing the ocean and its cool breeze.

She had done her best not to think or look at the huge ball of fel in the sky, but it was hard to ignore and she _did_ have responsibilities that she had just ran away from.

On the other hand, she was practically naked on a deserted island with a Varian Wrynn who was wearing even less clothes than her.

“I’m good here, I don’t want to go.”

“I don’t want to go either,” he replied, looking up at her and looking earnest from this angle, “but we can’t pretend our problems don’t exist much longer.”

“Why not?”

“I’m sure Shaw will find us, at some point, Anduin can’t cover for me forever, and the Tirisgarde is probably worried sick about you.”

“Draerin said he’d take care of it,” she replied, grabbing Varian’s left hand just so she could play with the ring she had put there.

A small object, to show the world that he was hers.

She sighed as her eyes drifted down to his chest and abs.

“Stop looking at my muscles.”

“Never.”

“I need you to focus so we can make the best out of the few moments we have left.”

Lidya’s eyes went back up to his eyes as she pouted.

“Fine. When are we leaving?”

“In three days. And you have to take me to your farm on the last day, because I was promised some hard labor.”

“Oh, am I still not tiring you enough?” she asked, grinning and raising an eyebrow as she put her hand flat on his chest, trailing toward his nipple and watching goosebumps form in her path.

“Hmmm, maybe not, I think I still have some stamina in me.”

“Not bad for an old man,” she joked, laughing when he tackled her on the sand for that.

  


  


***

  


  


Varian pressed her against the door of his bedroom when they arrived in Stormwind, kissing her like a drowning man finally getting some air in his lungs, and she kissed him back with the same enthusiasm, still not sure she was ready to go back to pretending that they weren’t anything to each other.

“Where are you sleeping tonight?” he asked against her mouth when they broke the kiss to breathe.

“Dalaran, there’s no way Modera will let me out of her sight after a week and a half away.”

He nodded, looking disappointed, and she kissed the look right off his face, holding him close for a while after she had managed to kiss a smile onto his face.

“I love you,” he murmured against her ear.

She kissed him again, just because she could and wanted to.

She was his wife now, after all.


End file.
